And today the East Indian Council of Belize issued statement on its position surrounding Myles detention and the way he was treated by villagers. In their statement, EIC says that the incident has served to highlight a situation that has prevailed within the Mayan communities for a long time. The statement goes on to make reference to an incident that took place in the late 1990’s when a Rastafarian was allegedly killed at Medina Bank Village in quote, “very unusual circumstance,” end of quote. It also references the incident where Mayan villagers reportedly set fire to the crocodile sanctuary on the Rio Grande in San Marcos. The EIC says that the incident involving Myles is being cloaked by using the Alcalde System and is calling on the government to eliminate that system as it is quote, “antiquated and has outlived its usefulness,” end of quote. The statement ends calling on Mayan villagers to cease their actions as quote, “we cannot, as a people, long survive if bias, grudge, prejudice and racial discrimination pervades our societies,” end of quote.